June 5, 1864. With the
Gion Festival going on, Iizuka barges into Battousai
and Tomoe's room, hoping the hitokiri could accompany
him to the fair and the red-light district afterwards.
The only problem is that Kenshin's asleep. Iizuka leaves
the dull room with the only action going on is Tomoe's
sewing. It's hard to believe for him that Battousai
is actually sleeping while someone is in the same room.
As he takes a seat on the front porch of the Kohagi
Inn, Iizuka watches as Katagai rushes up to him from
the streets. Out of breath, Katagai has some urgent
news - the Ikeda Inn where the secret council was to
be held was raided by the Shinsen Gumi. With the news
heard from outside of his room, Battousai's eyes flash
open.
Katsura had avoided the
raid. He had taken a nap because he was too early for
the council, but the fates of Yoshida and Miyabe who
were also important for the secret meeting were grim.
Battousai could do nothing about it. The Shinsen Gumi
had made their triumphant return. Just
one bit of information leaked out had set the rise of
the new era back. There was little hope to see a new
age. The Bakufu quickly eliminated many of their threats,
leaving the Choshuu Clan in shambles. Katsura had fallen
from power and Takasugi had fallen ill from tuberculosis.
Battousai and Tomoe meet
Katsura, trying to disguise himself as a homeless commoner,
under a bridge. The plan that was established during
the secret council was to set ablaze the entire city
and capture the Emperor during the panic. Katsura was
the only one to object to such havoc and, ironically,
was the only one to survive of all the important figures.
Katsura says he has to remain hidden, as he is most
wanted by the shogunate. Battousai questions where his
next destination is, since the Kohagi Inn was burned
down. A farm house in the outskirts of the city has
been arranged by Katsura. There, Battousai will settle
down and will be contacted by his leader through Iizuka.
Katsura gets to his feet and begins to walk away. As
he leaves the scene, Katsura asks that Tomoe stay with
his hitokiri if she has no place to go. A married couple
will be less suspicious than a single man. With those
words said, Katsura disappears.
Thus, admist of all the
problems, a new couple had begun living their new lives.
Kenshin, age fifteen, and Tomoe, age eighteen, reside
far from the city in their quiet farm home. Living as
farmers, the two not only plan on being together for
the sake of covering up their identities, but till death
do they part.
